Bed chair



UCL 21, 1941 l.. LOMBARDI ETAL 2,260,079

BED CHAIR Filed July 3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l l l i BY W A A Zarfzesy Oct. 21,'1941. LOMBARDI E-rAL 2,260,079

' BED' CHAIR I Filed July 3, 1940 3' Sheets-Sheet 2 Il' III' y '/m yefzlars Z @a 0112 afa? 'fili III) fl w Oct. 21, 1941. LOMBARDI ETAL 2,260,079

BED CHAIR Filed July 3. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 21, 1941 Leo Lombardi, Charles' H. Spicer, and christian( F. Christensen, lLos Angeles, Calif.

Application July 3,:1940y Serial No'. 343,872 s claims'. (o1. 1st-rea This invention relates to furniture and more particularly to a bed chair, it being one objectv ofl theY invention to provide an article of furniture which may be u'sed as a `chair or converted into la bed. v VAnother 'object of the invention is to provide an article which is normally used as a chairand has an upholstered back capable 'of lbeing swung from van upright position, in which it serves as a 'back .for the Vcliair,.to a reclining position in which it serves to cooperate with the seatv of the chair to Vform a 'bed or couch.

fAir-other object of the invention isv to provide the vti-ltable back 'of the chair with improved mean-s for holding the same in Va raised position in 'which it serves as a back for" the chair', the

Securing means being of such `construction that' Another object 'of the invention is t'o 'provide improved fastening means for the chair bacl:

which is urged toward aV securingposition 'so that there will be no danger of the back accidentally slipping 'and moving toV a lowered position prematurely.

Another object Aof the 'invention is to* provide the `chair with a seat including companion upholstered Vsections cooperating ywith eachother to form a seat for' the chair and capable o'f being easilyrnoved to 'an extended position in which they cooperate with the lowered back to4 form' 'a b'ed' or couch.

. Another object of the invention is to provide an article of furniture which normally appears to 'be 'merely a large, comfortable chair but in'ay be quickly and very easily converted intol a -bed ofthe 'couch type.

The invention is illustrated 'in 'the accompanyir'ig drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the yimproved bed chair. v;

Fig. 2 is arview showing the bed chair adjusted io'ruse asa bed. Y v 'Y Y Fig. 3 is a top plan view of 4the bed 'chair fad.- jiisted for use as a bed. j v

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view on the line '4-'4 of Fig. 43. y

Fig. 5 is -a sectional view taken vertically through the yloack of the 'chair on the line 5-'5 offFg. 7.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. yshowin-g-the latch moved to' releasing position.

'l-J-'l of Fig. 5. y l

Fig. 8 is a ksectional view taken horizontally through the back on the li-nefS---ll` of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation showing the chair shifted downwardly by theweight of aV person sittingin the chair. l

Fig.l 7 Ais a view taken vertically on the line Fig.. 10 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken vertically on the line Mig-l0 of Fig- 11 is asimilar View on the line Hf-,I-I of; Fig. 9. v f

This improved chair bed constituting arms for the chair. The sidemernberscr arms are of hollow formation, as shown inv Fig. F1,- jand: have their .rearl portions reducedv in width from their inner sides to provide.;

shoulders vl which extend vertically vat a rearward :incl-ine' from their lower ends toward their upper ends. A rectangular frame 3 is mounted between lower -ends of the side members i and constitutes fa support yfor the seat of the chair.v

Front and rear portions ofthe side members areY provided with feet Y4 and, in order to permit' the chair bedto be easily moved from place to place, there have been provided castors \5 rest fora-the'` floor -atall times. v Y

Each castor is mounted as shown inFigs. 10 and 1-1, 'and referring `to these figures, it will be Seen that the' shank 6 of each castor is `rotatably mounted through the bottom 'l of a cylindri-v cal socket 7 8 and engaged in the bore 9 of a block Hl. This block is slidablek vertically in the socket 8 and engaged by a spring I2 which is` :fitted within the upper portion o f the socket with its upper end bearing against a plug I3, which plug vis screwed into the socket and serves'to coniine the spring in the socket and also `serves to properly 'tension the spring so that the springs for the four castors serve to normally hold the chair in the raised position shown in Fig. 10, permittingv it to' be easily rolled along a oor. The weight of a person occupying the chair -or bed, when the chair is converted into a bed, will depress the same and cause the feet 4 to rest upon 'the floor, as shown in' Figs; 9 and 11, and

exert frictional binding which will prevent the chair or bed from moving along the floor out of `a desired position. Consequently, creeping of the chair or bed will be prevented.

' The'seat for the ch'a'ir has a box-likeframe or -base t4 carryinga cushion l5. The base 'has side rails 16 which rest on the side bars of the frame 3 and, 'at its rear or inner end, carries depending lblocks Il which serve as stops to limit forward Vsliding movement of the seat by engage;

has side members l.

which ment with the front cross bar of frame 3. This is clearly shown in Fig. 4. It should be noted that the side rails I6 of the base have sloping lower edge faces which rest against the side bars of the frame 3 and cause the seat to extend rearwardly at a downward incline when the seat is in its retracted position shown in Fig. l. The front plate I1' extends downwardly below the side rails to serve as a floor-engaging support for the front end of the seat and also constitutes an abutment for engaging the front bar of frame 3 and limit rearward movement of the seat when in a retracted position. An upper cushion I8 nor-V mally rests on the lower cushion I and, at its rear end, is connected with the rear end ofthe lower cushion by a strip of fabric I9 to provide a hinged connection which holds the upper cushion connected with the lower cushion but allows it to be swung rearwardly to lowered position. When the upper cushion is swung rearwardly to lowered or reclining position, it rests on the frame 3 back of the cushion I5 and the base I4 carrying the same, as shown in Fig. 4. The two cushions then form sections of a bed or cot.

The back I9 of the chair has side bars or posts 2D which are pivotally connected with the side bars of frame 3 and the side members I of the chair, by hinges 2 I These hinges t between frame 3 and side members I, where they are pivotally mounted by pivot rods or bolts Y22 and, when the back is swung upwardly to raised position its forward movement is limited by the shoulders 2 of the side members I of the chair. A plate or panel 23, forming a backing for a cushion 24, is secured against the side posts and constitutes'a i'lrm reinforcement for the cushion. It should be noted that the lower Aor forward portion 24' of cushion 24 is of reduced width in order that it may fit between side members I when the back is in Vraised position and that when the back is in raised position, the wider portion of the cushion 24 may rest on the side members or arms I in advance of the shoulders 2. Guide plates 25 and 25a which are enclosed in a housing 25, are secured against outer side faces of the side posts, and the bottom of this housing is formed with openings 25a through which pass the side posts and bars 21 which have contacting engagement with rear faces of the posts.

These bars 21 extend longitudinally of the posts between theA plates and 25a and, at their lower ends, are connected with upper ends of bars 28 carrying at their lower ends hinges 3i! through which pass hinge pins 3| frame 3 and the side members I. By this arrangement, the bracing bars 28 may have swinging movement and the bars 21 slide longitudinally as the back is swung to a raised position or to the lowered position shown in Fig. 4, wherein more comfortable angle, it must be secured in set 1 position and in order to do this there have been provided gripping blocks 32. These blocks are located back of bars 21 between the guide plates and are connected with the posts 2B by pairs of links 33. The links are located at opposite sides carried' by of the bars 21 intermediate the upper end lower guide plates and are pivotally connected with the posts by pins 34. The other ends of the links are pivotally connected with the gripping blocks by pins or rods which protrude, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and are engaged with lower ends of springs 36. Upper ends of the springs are anchored to screw eyes 31 and tension of the springs serves to urge the gripping blocks upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 5and cause the blocks 32 to have firm gripping engagement with the bars Therefore, the bars 21 will be frictionally gripped between the posts and blocks and the back will be rmly held in upright position and prevented from moving out of a desired position of adjustment. Friction strips 32a. are provided along confronting faces of the posts 2D, bars 21 and blocks 32, to assist in creating tight frictional grip when the blocks are in gripping position. A rod or shaft 38 is rotatably mounted through the upper portion of the housing or casing'25 transversely of the back with one end protruding a suicient distance to carry a handle or lever 39 by means of which the shaft is to be turned. It will be obvious that a lever handle may be mounted upon each end of the shaft, if so desired, and thus permit the shaft to be turned from either side of the chair.

Arms 40, which constitute cams, are fixedly carried by the shaft 38 over upper ends of the blocks or bars 32 and normally engage lower ends of the sloping upper .end faces 4I of these gripping bars, as shown in Fig. 5. When the shaft is turned by means of its handles 39, the arms 40 will be swung rearwardly and their lower ends will act against the sloping upper ends of the blocks 32 to shift the blocks downwardly, and during their downward movement they will be shifted out of gripping engagement with the bars 21, due to the fact that the links will move from the inclined position of Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 6, wherein they extend at right angles to the bars 21. The bars 21 can then slide freely along the posts and the back of the chair may be swung rearwardly to an angularly adjusted position, or lowered to the reclining position shown in Fig. 4. When the handle is released, the springs 36 will eXert upward pull on the pins 35 and return-the blocks 32 to a gripping position, in which position they cause the b-ars 21 to be again rmly gripped and the back of the chair held in adjusted position. It will thus be seen that the device may be very conveniently used either as a chair or as a bed and that when used as a chair, the back may be adjusted to any desired angle and securely held in the adjusted position. When upward pull is exerted upon the chair back to raise same, the blocks will be urged downwardly toward releasing position and the chair back may be swung upwardly without actuating the handle 39 to move the blocks to the releasing position. v

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a combination chair and bed, side members constituting chair arms, a seat between the side members, a back for the chair having side posts pivoted at their lower ends to mount the back for swinging movement from a raised position rearwardly to a lowered position for cooperating with the seat to form a bed, braces pivoted at their lower ends rearwardly of the back, bars pivoted at their lower ends to upper ends of the bracesand extending upwardly therefrom in at contacting engagement with rear faceslof the posts and being slidable longitudinally of the posts, clamping blocks mounted for shifting movement longitudinally of the posts and towards and away from the posts into and out of position for gripping engagement with rear faces of said bars to hold the bars stationary and retain 3. In a combined chair and bed, side members f constituting chair arms, a seat between the side the back in raised position at a desired incline,

bars pivoted at their lower ends to upper ends f,

of the braces, said bars bearing against rear faces of the posts and being slidable longitudinally thereof, clamping blocks for engaging rear faces of said bars, links extending across said bars and pivoted to the posts and the blocks and mounting the blocks for movement into and out of position for gripping the bars, resilient means normally holding the blocks in gripping position, and releasing means including cams for engaging the blocks and moving the same to a position out of grippingengagement with the bars.

members, a back for the chair having side posts pivoted at their lower ends to mount the back for swinging movement from raised position rearwardly to a lowered reclining position for cooperating with the seat to form a bed, braces pivoted at their lower ends rearwardly of the back, bars pivoted at their lower ends to upper ends of the braces, said bars bearing against rear faces of the posts and being slidable longitudinally thereof, side walls extending rearwardly from the back, clamping blocks for gripping rear faces of said bars, links extending across the bars and pivoted to the posts and blocks to mount the blocks for movement into and out of gripping engagement with the bars, springs for urging the blocks upwardly 'and tilting the links to move the blocks to gripping position, a shaft rotatably mounted between the side walls, cams carried by said shaft, said blocks having sloping upper faces engaged by said cams, and means for turning the shaft in a direction to move the cams across the sloping faces of the blocks and exert pressure thereon to shift the blocks longitudinally and swing the links to move the blocks out of gripping engagement with the bars to permit tilting adjustment of the chair back.

LEO LOMBARDI.

CHARLES H. SPICER.

CHRISTIAN F. CHRISTENSEN. 

